Metro Transit vs RideOn!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Metro Transit
Plan your transit trips, view real-time departure information for buses and trains, and purchase mobile tickets directly from your smartphone. This app simplifies navigating public transportation in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.
- Trip Planner
- Real-time departure information (NexTrip)
- Mobile ticket purchasing
- Store multiple tickets
- Secure payment options
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Make transit trips in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area as mobile as you are with the official Metro Transit app. Now you can plan your trip, see departure information for buses and trains, and buy transit tickets all on the go! Just download the free app, create an account with your method of payment, and get moving. The Metro Transit app is a tool to make riding the bus, METRO system and Northstar in the Twin Cities a little bit easier. After you’ve identified your desired trip and transit departure time, you can buy and use Metro Transit mobile tickets right from your smartphone – it’s like having a ticket machine right in your pocket! KEY FEATURES: Find the right bus, light rail, or train for you through the Trip Planner. See the next available bus, light rail, or train for your desired trip with NexTrip. Pay a single fare or multiple fares for a group of riders, and store multiple tickets on your phone for future use. Simply create an account and enter your credit/debit card information in our secure system. If you’re looking to pay with cash, you can use a pre-paid debit card or pre-paid gift card. HOW IT WORKS: 1. SELECT RIDER TYPE: Adult, Senior/Youth/Medicare, Mobility, Family 2. SELECT SERVICE: Local Bus/METRO, Express Bus, or Northstar 3. SELECT: Station for Northstar or time-based fare for Bus/METRO 4. CHECKOUT: Pay with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, pre-paid debit or gift card, or Apple Pay COMMON QUESTIONS: Do I need to be connected? An internet connection is required create an account, sign-in and purchase and activate tickets. What if my battery dies? Just like with paper tickets, you're responsible for making sure you have a valid fare at all times, so be sure to plan ahead! IMPORTANT REMINDERS: • Activate your ticket when you see your bus or train approaching. Your ticket must be activated before boarding a vehicle. • Watch your battery level... Just like with paper tickets, you're responsible for making sure you have a valid fare at all times.
RideOn!
Load and manage your mobile transit pass, cash value, and discounts conveniently from your phone. Securely manage your account and balance through an online portal, eliminating the need for exact change.
- Mobile pass loading
- Cash value storage
- Discount management
- Secure account portal
- Balance protection
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Easy & Convenient: Load your mobile pass anywhere and anytime. RideOn! stores your passes, cash value, and discounts (for qualified customers). Never worry about having exact change again! More secure: Use the RideOn! portal to manage your account and protect your balance.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: RideOn! at 3.0 against Metro Transit's 1.6. Metro Transit's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (355 vs 4). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
RideOn! holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Metro Transit has 355 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 14% of Metro Transit's written reviews are positive against 0% of RideOn!'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Metro Transit ships an update every 3 months, RideOn! every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Metro Transit | RideOn! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.6 (355 ratings) | 3.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 13.9% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 355 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 71 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Metropolitan Council | BI-STATE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE MISSOURI-ILLINOIS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT (INC) |
Customer experience
Metro Transit
RideOn!
Bugs and requests
Metro Transit
Reported bugs
4 issues- Payment buttons not functioning
- App crashing or getting stuck on loading screens
- Login issues and account problems
- Incompatibility with older devices or OS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Add prompt for first-time users to buy tickets
- Integrate trip planning and schedules into the app
- Allow purchasing multiple tickets at once
- Improve payment flow and reliability
RideOn!
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Metro Transit
No in-app purchases
RideOn!
No in-app purchases
